U.S. patent application number 13/505307 was filed with the patent office on 2012-08-23 for sleep element for improving the sleep of a person.
This patent application is currently assigned to KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V.. Invention is credited to Dmitri Chestakov, Johan Thomas Oostveen, Roy Raymann.
Application Number | 20120210513 13/505307 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41478670 |
Filed Date | 2012-08-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120210513 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chestakov; Dmitri ; et
al. |
August 23, 2012 |
SLEEP ELEMENT FOR IMPROVING THE SLEEP OF A PERSON
Abstract
The invention relates to a sleep element (1) like a heating
blanket for improving the sleep of a person. The sleep element
comprises a property determination unit (2, 5) for determining a
property of a person, a thermal energy unit (3) for transferring
thermal energy to or away from the person, and a thermal energy
control unit (4) for controlling the thermal energy unit depending
on the determined property of the person. Since the sleep element
comprises the property determination unit, the thermal energy unit,
and the thermal energy control unit, the temperature of the person
can be controlled depending on a determined property of the person,
while the person is sleeping, such that the sleep of the person is
improved. Moreover, the temperature control can simply be used
within a bed by placing the sleep element in the bed. The handling
of the temperature control is therefore very simple.
Inventors: |
Chestakov; Dmitri;
(Eindhoven, NL) ; Raymann; Roy; (Waalre, NL)
; Oostveen; Johan Thomas; (Eindhoven, NL) |
Assignee: |
KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS
N.V.
EINDHOVEN
NL
|
Family ID: |
41478670 |
Appl. No.: |
13/505307 |
Filed: |
November 3, 2010 |
PCT Filed: |
November 3, 2010 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IB10/54970 |
371 Date: |
May 1, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
5/421 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61M 2205/3368 20130101;
A61M 2230/63 20130101; A61B 5/01 20130101; A61B 5/4815 20130101;
A61M 2205/3653 20130101; G05D 23/1902 20130101; A61B 5/6892
20130101; A61B 2562/0219 20130101; A61M 21/00 20130101; A61M
2021/0066 20130101; F24F 11/66 20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
5/421 |
International
Class: |
A47C 21/04 20060101
A47C021/04; G05D 23/19 20060101 G05D023/19; G05D 23/00 20060101
G05D023/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 5, 2009 |
EP |
09175109.9 |
Claims
1. A sleep element for improving the sleep of a person, the sleep
element being adapted to be used within a bed and comprising: a
property determination unit for determining a property of a person,
a thermal energy unit for transferring thermal energy to or away
from the person, a thermal energy control unit for controlling the
thermal energy unit depending on the determined property of the
person.
2. The sleep element as defined in claim 1, wherein the property
determination unit and the thermal energy unit are integrated
within the sleep element.
3. The sleep element as defined in claim 1, wherein the property
determination unit comprises a moving sensor for generating a
movement signal being indicative of a movement of the person and a
comfort level determining unit for determining a comfort level of
the person as the property of the person depending on the generated
movement signal.
4. The sleep element as defined in claim 3, wherein the comfort
level determining unit is adapted to provide movement--comfort
level assignments between movement signals and comfort levels and
to determine a comfort level depending on the generated movement
signal based on the provided movement--comfort level
assignments.
5. The sleep element as defined in claim 4, wherein the comfort
level determining unit is adapted to provide a movement--comfort
level assignment of a movement signal to a comfort level indicating
an uncomfortable condition by providing an uncomfortable threshold,
wherein the comfort level determining unit is adapted to determine
the comfort level indicating an uncomfortable condition, if the
generated movement signal exceeds the uncomfortable threshold.
6. The sleep element as defined in claim 3, wherein the thermal
control unit is adapted to determine a thermal energy pattern
defining the transferring of thermal energy to or away from the
person depending on the determined comfort level and to control the
thermal energy unit (3; 103) such that the transferring of thermal
energy to or away from the person is performed depending on the
determined thermal energy pattern.
7. The sleep element as defined in claim 3, wherein the thermal
control unit is adapted to determine a thermal energy pattern
defining (i) the positions at which the thermal energy should be
transferred to or away from the person, and/or (ii) the times at
which the thermal energy should be transferred to or away from the
person.
8. The sleep element as defined in claim 6, wherein the thermal
energy control unit is adapted to provide comfort level--thermal
energy assignments between comfort levels and thermal energy
patterns and to determine a thermal energy pattern depending on the
determined comfort level based on the comfort level--thermal energy
assignments.
9. The sleep element as defined in claim 6, wherein the thermal
energy control unit is adapted to determine a thermal energy
pattern defining an additional transfer of thermal energy to the
person, if the comfort level determining unit determines a comfort
level indicating an uncomfortable condition.
10. The sleep element as defined in claim 1, wherein the thermal
energy unit comprises a thermo-electric element for electrically
transferring thermal energy to or away from the person by heating
or cooling the person.
11. The sleep element as defined in claim 10, wherein the thermal
energy unit (103) comprises an electrically conducting element,
wherein the property determining unit is adapted to measure an
electrical property of the electrically conducting element and to
determine a property of the person depending on the measured
electrical property.
12. The sleep element as defined in claim 10, wherein the thermal
energy unit is arranged in an electrical blanket having heating
wires, which heating wires act, simultaneously, as electrically
conducting element for the determination of the property of the
person depending on the measured electrical property.
13. The sleep element as defined in claim 10, wherein the property
determining unit measures the resistance, conductance, capacity
and/or inductance of the electrically conducting element in a
quantitative or comparative way.
14. The sleep element as defined in claim 1, wherein the sleep
element further comprises a temperature sensor for measuring the
temperature of the sleep element, wherein the thermal energy
control unit is adapted to control the thermal energy unit such
that the thermal energy transferred to the person is lowered, if
the temperature sensor measures a temperature exceeding a
temperature threshold.
15. The sleep element as defined in claim 1, wherein the sleep
element further comprises: a property recording unit for recording
properties of the person, which have been determined during
sleeping, the recorded properties of the person forming a recorded
property pattern, a user interface for allowing the person to
select between at least good sleep quality and bad sleep quality,
an assignment generation unit for generating assignments between
the recorded property pattern Sand the selected sleep quality and
for determining a reference property pattern depending on the
generated assignments, wherein the thermal control unit is adapted
to control the thermal energy unit (203) such that a deviation of
actually determined properties of the person forming an actual
property pattern and the reference property pattern is reduced.
16. A bed comprising the sleep element as defined in claim 1.
17. A sleep method for improving the sleep of a person, wherein a
sleep element for being used within a bed as defined in claim 1 is
provided and wherein the sleep method comprises following steps:
determining a property of a person by the property determination
unit, transferring thermal energy to or away from the person by the
thermal energy unit, wherein the transferring of the thermal energy
to or away from the person is controlled depending on the
determined property of the person by the thermal energy control
unit.
18. A sleep computer program for improving the sleep of a person,
the sleep computer program comprising program code means for
causing a sleep element as defined in claim 1 Ito carry out the
steps of the sleep method when the sleep computer program is run on
a computer controlling the sleep element.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to a sleep element, a sleep method and
a sleep computer program for improving the sleep of a person. The
invention relates further to a bed comprising the sleep
element.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] JP 04-295533 discloses a temperature controller for
controlling the temperature within a bed. The temperature
controller comprises a pyroelectric type infrared sensor being
installed at a frame of the bed above a site at which the head of a
person is to be located. The infrared sensor is adapted to detect
the movement of the person in the bed. The temperature controller
further comprises a control circuit that is also installed at the
frame of the bed above the site at which the head of the person is
to be installed. The control circuit is connected to the infrared
sensor and counts the number of signals generated by the infrared
sensor per specified time period. A temperature regulator located
below the mattress of the bed is controlled according to the number
of signals counted by the control circuit.
[0003] The handling of the temperature controller is not simple,
because an infrared sensor and a controller have to be installed at
the bed frame and a temperature regulator has to be located below
the mattress. If the temperature controller has to be used with
another bed, the infrared sensor, the control circuit, and the
temperature regulator have to be detached from the bed and again
installed at the other bed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide an
apparatus, which allows controlling the temperature of a person
lying in a bed, wherein the handling of the apparatus is
simplified.
[0005] In a first aspect of the present invention a sleep element
for improving the sleep of a person is presented, wherein the sleep
element being adapted to be used within a bed and comprises:
[0006] a property determination unit for determining a property of
a person,
[0007] a thermal energy unit for transferring thermal energy to or
away from the person,
[0008] a thermal energy control unit for controlling the thermal
energy unit depending on the determined property of the person.
[0009] The sleep element is preferentially a blanket, a pillow, or
a mattress. Since the sleep element comprises a property
determination unit for determining a property of a person, a
thermal energy unit for transferring thermal energy to or away from
the person, and a thermal energy control unit for controlling the
thermal energy unit depending on the determined property of the
person, the temperature of the person can be controlled depending
on a determined property of the person, while the person is
sleeping. This control of the temperature can be used for improving
the sleep of the person. Moreover, since the sleep element
comprises the different units used for controlling the temperature
of the person, the temperature control can simply be used within a
bed by placing the sleep element like a blanket in the bed. If the
temperature control used with a certain bed should be used with
another bed, the sleep element has just to be moved from the
certain bed to the other bed. For example, a blanket being the
sleep element has just to be moved from the certain bed to the
other bed. The handling of the temperature control is therefore
very simple.
[0010] It is preferred that the property determination unit and the
thermal energy unit are integrated within the sleep element.
[0011] The property determination unit and the thermal energy unit
can be integrated completely within the sleep element or only parts
of these units can be integrated within the sleep element. In
particular, the sleep element is preferentially a blanket, wherein
the property determination unit and the thermal energy unit are
integrated within the blanket.
[0012] It is further preferred that the property determination unit
comprises a moving sensor for generating a movement signal being
indicative of a movement of the person and a comfort level
determining unit for determining a comfort level of the person as
the property of the person depending on the generated movement
signal. This allows controlling the temperature of the person
depending on the comfort level of the person.
[0013] The moving sensor comprises preferentially an accelerometer
for generating the movement signal. The comfort level determining
unit can be adapted to determine a comfort level of the person
depending on the amplitude and/or frequency of the movement
signal.
[0014] It is further preferred that the comfort level determining
unit is adapted to provide movement--comfort level assignments
between movement signals and comfort levels and to determine a
comfort level depending on the generated movement signal based on
the provided movement--comfort level assignments. This allows
determining the comfort level in a simple way by simply using the
movement-comfort level assignments and the generated movement
signal. The assignments can be stored as thresholds defining
regions in a movement signal space, wherein, if a generated
movement signal is within a certain region of the movement signal
space, a comfort level is determined, which has been assigned to
this certain region. The thresholds can be stored in the comfort
level determining unit. The thresholds are, for example, thresholds
for the amplitude and/or the frequency of the generated movement
signal. The movement-comfort level assignments can also be provided
as one or several functions having as an input the generated
movement signal and as an output a comfort level.
[0015] It is further preferred that the comfort level determining
unit is adapted to provide a movement--comfort level assignment of
a movement signal to a comfort level indicating an uncomfortable
condition by providing an uncomfortable threshold, wherein the
comfort level determining unit is adapted to determine the comfort
level indicating an uncomfortable condition, if the generated
movement signal exceeds the uncomfortable threshold. This allows
controlling the temperature of the person such that the person
feels comfortable by using just one threshold.
[0016] It is further preferred that the thermal control unit is
adapted to determine a thermal energy pattern defining the
transferring of thermal energy to or away from the person depending
on the determined comfort level and to control the thermal energy
unit such that the transferring of thermal energy to or away from
the person is performed depending on the determined thermal energy
pattern.
[0017] The thermal energy pattern preferentially defines the amount
of thermal energy which has to be transferred to or away from the
person. The thermal energy pattern can further define the positions
at which the thermal energy should be transferred to or away from
the person. The thermal energy pattern can also define the times at
which the thermal energy should be transferred to or away from the
person.
[0018] It is further preferred that the thermal energy control unit
is adapted to provide comfort level--thermal energy assignments
between comfort levels and thermal energy patterns and to determine
a thermal energy pattern depending on the determined comfort level
based on the comfort level--thermal energy assignments.
[0019] It is further preferred that the thermal energy control unit
is adapted to determine a thermal energy pattern defining an
additional transfer of thermal energy to the person, if the comfort
level determining unit determines a comfort level indicating an
uncomfortable condition.
[0020] It is further preferred that the thermal energy unit
comprises a thermo-electric element for electrically transferring
thermal energy to or away from the person by heating or cooling the
person. This allows heating or cooling the person for controlling
the temperature of the person in a simple way. In an embodiment,
the same thermo-electric element can be used for heating or cooling
the person, wherein for switching from heating to cooling or vice
versa the direction of the current flowing through the
thermo-electric element is modified. Preferentially, the thermal
energy unit comprises several thermo-electric elements arranged at
different locations for allowing the person to be heated or cooled
at different locations differently. For example, the
thermo-electric elements can be distributed homogenously over the
sleep element like a blanket, wherein, for example, it is possible
to transfer more heat to the feet of the person than to other body
parts of the person. Thus, preferentially single thermo-electric
elements and/or groups of thermo-electric elements are separately
addressable.
[0021] It is further preferred that the thermal energy unit
comprises an electrically conducting element, wherein the property
determining unit is adapted to measure an electrical property of
the electrically conducting element and to determine a property of
the person depending on the measured electrical property. The
thermal energy unit can comprise one or several electrically
conducting elements.
[0022] Furthermore, it is preferred that the thermal energy unit is
arranged in an electrical blanket having heating wires, which
heating wires act, simultaneously, as electrically conducting
element for the determination of the property of the person
depending on the measured electrical property.
[0023] According to another preferred embodiment, the property
determining unit measures the resistance, conductance, capacity
and/or inductance of the electrically conducting element in a
quantitative or comparative way.
[0024] The thermal energy unit and the property determining unit
can therefore highly be integrated. Moreover, for example, sleep
elements with a standard thermal energy unit like blankets with a
standard thermal energy unit can be used, without modifying the
elements within the sleep element. It is just required to connect a
measurement unit for measuring an electrical property of the
electrically conducting elements of the thermal energy unit to
these electrically conducting elements for determining a property
of the person. The electrically conducting elements are
preferentially electrical wires within the sleep element used
themselves for heating or for transferring electrical energy to
another thermo-electric element. The electrical property being
measured by the property determining unit is, for example, the
resistance, capacitance and/or the inductance of the electrically
conducting elements. If the person moves and if the person is in
contact with the sleep element, for example, if the sleep element
is a blanket and the person lies on the blanket, the geometry of
the different elements of the sleep element is changed. This
geometry change generally leads to a change of, for example, the
capacitance and/or the inductance of the electrical conducting
elements. Thus, by measuring an electrical property of the
electrically conducting elements a signal can be generated being
indicative of a movement of the person. The measured electrical
property of the electrically conducting elements can therefore be
regarded as a movement signal.
[0025] It is further preferred that the sleep element comprises a
temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the sleep
element, wherein the thermal energy control unit is adapted to
control the thermal energy unit such that the thermal energy
transferred to the person is lowered, if the temperature sensor
measures a temperature exceeding a temperature threshold. The
temperature threshold is preferentially chosen such that an
overheating of the sleep element is prevented. Preferentially, the
temperature threshold is 40 degree Celsius or smaller.
[0026] It is further preferred that the sleep element
comprises:
[0027] a property recording unit for recording properties of the
person, which have been determined during sleeping, the recorded
properties of the person forming a recorded property pattern,
[0028] a user interface for allowing the person to select between
at least good sleep quality and bad sleep quality,
[0029] an assignment generation unit for generating assignments
between the recorded property pattern and the selected sleep
quality and for determining a reference property pattern depending
on the generated assignments,
[0030] wherein the thermal control unit is adapted to control the
thermal energy unit such that a deviation of actually determined
properties of the person forming an actual property pattern and the
reference property pattern is reduced.
[0031] This allows a user to adapt the temperature control to his
personal preferences. The temperature control can therefore be
adapted to the respective user. The property of the person recorded
by the property recording unit is, for example, the skin
temperature of the person. In this case, the property determination
unit comprises therefore a temperature sensor for measuring the
skin temperature of the person. However, the property recording
unit can also be adapted to record another property of the person
like a movement of the person by recording the movement signal.
[0032] The user interface has, for example, two buttons, a red one
and a green one. If the sleep was good, the person can press the
green button, and if the sleep was bad, the user can press the red
button. The user interface can also be adapted to select between
more than two quality levels. For example, the user interface can
be adapted to select between good sleep quality, mid-level sleep
quality, and bad sleep quality. The user interface can comprise a
yellow button for allowing a user to select a mid-level sleep
quality.
[0033] A reference property pattern can define the maximal and/or
minimal determined property value, in particular, the maximal
and/or minimal skin temperature or movement signal. The thermal
control unit can be adapted such that the actual skin temperature
or movement signal determined while the person is sleeping is above
the minimal skin temperature or movement signal and below the
maximal skin temperature or movement signal, wherein these minimal
and maximal values have been rated by the user as providing a good
sleep quality.
[0034] In a further aspect of the present invention a bed is
presented, wherein the bed comprises the sleep element as defined
in claim 1.
[0035] In a further aspect of the present invention a sleep method
for improving the sleep of a person is presented, wherein a sleep
element for being used within a bed as defined in claim 1 is
provided and wherein the sleep method comprises following
steps:
[0036] determining a property of a person by the property
determination unit,
[0037] transferring thermal energy to or away from the person by
the thermal energy unit,
[0038] wherein the transferring of the thermal energy to or away
from the person is controlled depending on the determined property
of the person by the thermal energy control unit.
[0039] In a further aspect of the present invention a sleep
computer program for improving the sleep of a person is presented,
wherein the sleep computer program comprises program code means for
causing a sleep element as defined in claim 1 to carry out the
steps of the sleep method as defined in claim 14, when the sleep
computer program is run on a computer controlling the sleep
element.
[0040] It shall be understood that the sleep element of claim 1,
the bed of claim 13, the sleep method of claim 14 and the computer
program of claim 15 have similar and/or identical preferred
embodiments as defined in the dependent claims.
[0041] It shall be understood that a preferred embodiment of the
invention can also be any combination of the dependent claims with
the respective independent claim.
[0042] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent
from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described
hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0043] In the following drawings:
[0044] FIG. 1 shows schematically and exemplarily an embodiment of
a sleep element for improving the sleep of a person,
[0045] FIG. 2 shows schematically and exemplarily a further
embodiment of a sleep element for improving the sleep of a
person,
[0046] FIG. 3 shows schematically and exemplarily a further
embodiment of a sleep element for improving the sleep of a
person,
[0047] FIG. 4 shows schematically and exemplarily a further
embodiment of a sleep element for improving the sleep of a
person,
[0048] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart exemplarily illustrating an
embodiment of a sleep method for improving the sleep of a person,
and
[0049] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart exemplarily illustrating a further
embodiment of a sleep method for improving the sleep of a
person.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0050] FIG. 1 shows schematically and exemplarily a sleep element 1
for improving the sleep of a person. In this embodiment, the sleep
element 1 is a blanket for being used within a bed. The sleep
element 1 comprises an accelerometer 2 for detecting movements of a
person, if the person lies on the sleep element 1 or is covered by
the sleep element 1. The accelerometer 2 is therefore a moving
sensor for generating a movement signal being indicative of a
movement of a person.
[0051] The sleep element 1 further comprises a comfort level
determining unit 5 for determining a comfort level of the person
depending on the generated movement signal. The comfort level can
be regarded as a property of the person and the combination of the
moving sensor 2 and the comfort level determining unit 5 can be
regarded as a property determination unit for determining a
property of a person.
[0052] The sleep element 1 further comprises a heating element 3
being a thermal energy unit for transferring thermal energy to the
person. The thermal energy unit 3 is a thermo-electric element for
electrically transferring thermal energy to the person by heating.
In particular, the thermo-electric element is a heating wire which
heats the sleep element 1 and thus a person being in contact with
the sleep element 1 via resistive heating. In another embodiment,
the thermo-electric element can be adapted for electrically
transferring thermal energy to and away from the person by heating
and cooling the person, wherein for switching from heating to
cooling or vice versa the direction of the current flowing through
the thermo-electric element is modified. For example, the
thermo-electric element can be a Peltier element which is based on
the Peltier effect. The thermo-electric element can also be based
on another effect like the Seeback effect or the Thomson effect. In
particular, the thermo-electric element can also be a micro
refrigerating element.
[0053] The thermal energy unit can comprise several thermo-electric
elements arranged at different locations for allowing the person to
be heated or cooled at different locations differently. For
example, the thermo-electric elements can be distributed
homogenously over the sleep element, in particular, over the
blanket, wherein, for example, it is possible to transfer more heat
to the feet of the person than to other body parts of the person.
Single thermo-electric elements and/or groups of thermo-electric
elements can be addressable separately.
[0054] The sleep element 1 further comprises a thermal energy
control unit 4 for controlling the thermal energy unit 3 depending
on the determined property of the person. The thermal energy
control unit 4 comprises preferentially a power supply for
modifying the voltage applied to the thermal energy unit 3
depending on the determined property of the person. The moving
sensor 2 and the thermal energy unit 3 are integrated within the
sleep element 1.
[0055] The comfort level determining unit 5 is adapted to determine
a comfort level of the person depending on the amplitude and/or
frequency of the movement signal, i.e. in this embodiment of the
signal generated by the accelerometer 2.
[0056] The accelerometer 2 is preferentially an accelerometer of a
piezoelectrical type. However, in another embodiment an
accelerometer of another type can be used. The accelerometer can be
adapted to measure the acceleration in one spatial axis, in two
spatial axes or in three spatial axes. If the acceleration is
measured in more than one spatial axis, the movement signal is
preferentially a combination of the accelerometer signals measured
for the different spatial axes. This combination is preferentially
a linear combination, in particular, an average, of the
accelerometer signals measured for different spatial axes.
[0057] In the comfort level determining unit 5 movement-comfort
level assignments between amplitudes and/or frequencies of movement
signals and comfort levels are stored, wherein the comfort level
determining unit 5 is adapted to determine a comfort level
depending on the generated movement signal, in particular,
depending on the amplitude and/or frequency of the generated
movement signal, based on the provided movement-comfort level
assignments. The movement-comfort level assignments are defined by
thresholds. The thresholds define regions in a movement signal
space, wherein, if a generated movement signal is within a certain
region of the movement signal space, a comfort level is determined
which has been assigned to this certain region. The thresholds are,
in this embodiment, thresholds for the amplitude and/or the
frequency of the generated movement signal. Thus, a generated
movement signal is classified in accordance with its amplitude
and/or frequency and a comfort level is determined, which is
assigned to the class in which the movement signal has been
classified. In other embodiments, the movement-comfort level
assignments can also be provided as one or several functions having
as an input the generated movement signal and as an output a
comfort level.
[0058] Preferentially, an uncomfortable threshold is stored in the
comfort level determining unit 5. The uncomfortable threshold
defines, for example, a certain amplitude and/or frequency of the
movement signal, wherein, if the actually measured movement signal
has an amplitude and/or frequency above the uncomfortable
threshold, a comfort level is determined indicating an
uncomfortable condition of the person, and, if the amplitude and/or
frequency of the actually measured movement signal is below the
uncomfortable threshold, a comfort level is determined indicating a
comfortable condition. Thus, movement-comfort level assignments are
preferentially stored in the comfort level determining unit 5 by
storing the uncomfortable threshold. This allows controlling the
temperature of a person such that the person feels comfortable by
using just one threshold.
[0059] The thermal control unit 4 is adapted to determine a thermal
energy pattern defining the transferring of thermal energy 2 to the
person depending on the determined comfort level and to control the
thermal energy unit 3 such that the transferring of thermal energy
to the person is performed depending on the determined thermal
energy pattern. The thermal energy pattern defines the amount of
thermal energy which has to be transferred to the person. If the
thermal energy unit comprises thermo-electric elements which also
allow to cool the person, i.e. which allow to transfer thermal
energy away from the person, the thermal energy pattern can define
the amount of thermal energy which has to be transferred away from
the person. The thermal energy pattern can further define the
positions at which the thermal energy should be transferred to or
away from the person. The thermal energy pattern can also define
the times at which the thermal energy should be transferred to or
away from the person.
[0060] The thermal energy control unit 4 is adapted to provide
comfort level-thermal energy assignments between comfort levels and
thermal energy patterns and to determine a thermal energy pattern
depending on the determined comfort level based on the comfort
level-thermal energy assignments. For example, at least two comfort
levels can be defined, a first comfort level indicating that the
person feels comfortable and a second comfort level indicating that
the person feels uncomfortable. In an embodiment, to the first
comfort level a first thermal energy pattern is assigned and to the
second comfort level a second thermal energy pattern is
assigned.
[0061] The thermal energy control unit 4 is preferentially adapted
such that a thermal energy pattern defining an additional transfer
of thermal energy to the person is determined, if the comfort level
determining unit 5 determines the second comfort level, i.e. a
comfort level indicating an uncomfortable condition of the person.
Thus, in an embodiment, if the movement signal exceeds the
uncomfortable threshold, which is preferentially preset, i.e. if
the detected activity of the person exceeds the uncomfortable
threshold, it is interpreted as an uncomfortable temperature
setting and the thermal energy control unit 4 triggers the heating
of the blanket 1 or adds some more power to the giving heating, if
the blanket is already heating the person.
[0062] The sleep element 1 further comprises a temperature sensor 6
for measuring the temperature of the sleep element 1. The thermal
energy control unit 4 is adapted to lower the thermal energy
transferred to the person, if the temperature sensor 6 measures a
temperature exceeding a temperature threshold. The temperature
threshold is chosen such that an overheating of the sleep element
is prevented. In particular, the thermal energy control unit is
adapted to switch off the heating, if the temperature sensor 6
measures a temperature exceeding the temperature threshold. This
protects a user from overheating. The temperature sensor 6 can be
separated from the thermal energy unit 3, in particular, from the
thermo-electric element, or the temperature sensor 6 can be
attached to the thermal energy unit.
[0063] The sleep element 1 provides therefore a sensing mechanism
to adjust to the actual user condition. In particular, the sleep
element allows sensing a user condition for better assessment of
human thermoregulation during sleep. Preferentially, it allows
detecting user micro-movements as an indicator of uncomfortable
cold or warm temperatures in bed. This indicator is preferentially
used to control these temperatures. In an embodiment, in addition
this indicator can be used to control air conditioning or other
components of an indoor environment. The sleep element provides an
unobtrusive way of sensing the user condition relevant to sleep
thermoregulation. It does preferentially not require any skin,
rectal or armpit temperature sensor. In an embodiment, the
temperature sensor 6 can be omitted. In this case, the sleep
element does not need any temperature sensor at all, because the
actual condition of the user is determined by using the movement
signal generated by the movement sensor which is, in the above
described embodiment, an accelerometer. A direct contact with the
skin or any other body part is then not needed.
[0064] FIG. 2 shows schematically and exemplarily a further
embodiment of a sleep element. The sleep element 101 shown in FIG.
2 is also a blanket for being used within a bed. The sleep element
101 comprises a thermal energy unit 103 for transferring thermal
energy to a person. In this embodiment, the thermal energy unit 103
is a thermo-electric element being an electrical wire for heating
the blanket 101 by resistive heating. In other embodiments, the
thermo-electric element can be adapted for heating and cooling
purposes, wherein for switching between heating and cooling the
direction of the current applied to the thermo-electric element is
modified. The thermal energy unit 103 is controlled by a thermal
energy control unit 104 depending on a determined property of the
person. The thermal energy control unit 104 preferentially
comprises a power supply for applying a voltage to the thermal
energy unit 103.
[0065] The property determining unit 105 is adapted to measure an
electrical property of the electrical wire of the thermal energy
unit 103 being an electrically conducting element and to determine
a property of the person depending on the measured electrical
property. The conducting wire is distributed in a layer within the
blanket 101, wherein the property determining unit 105 is
preferentially adapted to measure the resistance, the capacitance
or the inductance as the electrical property of the conducting
wire. When a person moves in close proximity of the blanket 101, it
changes the system geometry, i.e. it changes the geometry of the
conducting wire and the environment. This change leads to a change
of at least the capacitance and inductance, which can be measured
by the property determining unit 105. Also the blanket geometry can
be deformed from its original shape, resulting in an additional
change in the electrical properties of the conducting wire. The
property determining unit 105 is preferentially adapted to detect
all these changes that are reflecting the movements of the person.
The measured electrical property of the electrically conducting
wire is therefore a movement signal. This movement signal can be
used by the thermal energy control unit 104 for controlling the
thermal energy unit 103 depending on the movements of the person.
In particular, the property determination unit 105 can be adapted
to determine a comfort level and the thermal energy control unit
104 can be adapted to control the thermal energy unit 103 depending
on the determined comfort level as described above with reference
to FIG. 1.
[0066] The sleep element 101 allows unobtrusively sensing a person
in a bed in a simple way. The sleep element 101 can be realized
with minor or no changes within the existing design of conventional
electrical blankets, i.e. no special sensors embedded into the
blanket are required.
[0067] The conducting elements within the sleep element 101 can be
coupled to each other directly for forming one heating wire, or
they can be coupled by capacitive or inductive means. In the latter
case the conducting elements are preferentially provided by wire
segments. Thus, the thermal energy unit can comprise a single
heating wire (as it is the case with conventional electrical
blankets), or the thermal heating unit can comprise heating wire
segments, which are preferentially capacitively and/or inductively
coupled. The property determining unit can be adapted to measure
the resistance, conductance, capacity and/or inductance of the
conducting elements in a quantitative or comparative way.
[0068] The property determining unit can be adapted to determine a
combined electrical property from the electrical properties
measured for the different conducting elements. The combined
electrical property is an electrical property which depends on the
electrical properties of the different conducting elements. For
example, the combined electrical property is a linear combination
like an average or a maximum or minimum electrical property of the
electrical properties measured for the different conducting
elements. The combined electrical property can also be the result
of a comparison of the electrical properties measured for the
different conducting elements. For example, the combined electrical
property can be the variance of the electrical properties measured
for the different conducting elements. The combined electrical
property can be compared with a reference value, wherein the
reference value is preferentially a combined electrical property
determined for a certain situation, for example, determined if the
sleep element is used by a user and the user feels comfortable. The
energy control unit 104 can be adapted to control the thermal
energy unit 103 such that the combined electrical property is
preferentially similar to the reference value. The sleep element
101 is preferentially adapted to allow a user to set the reference
value.
[0069] Although in the above described embodiment the sleep element
101 determines a movement of the person depending on the measured
electrical property, in other embodiments the measured electrical
property can be used to measure another or a further property of
the person. For example, the measured electrical property can be
used for determining the skin temperature. Also the skin
temperature modifies the electrical properties of the electrically
conducting elements within the sleep element. This modification of
the electrical properties can therefore also be indicative of the
skin temperature of the person and can therefore be used to
determine the skin temperature.
[0070] The electrical signal measured by the property determining
unit 105 can also be regarded as a signal reflecting different
properties of the person, for example, reflecting a movement of the
person and a skin temperature of the person. In this case, the
thermal energy control unit 105 controls the thermal energy unit
103 depending on movements of the person and the skin temperature
of the person.
[0071] Although in the above described embodiment the electrically
conductive elements are electrical wires, in other embodiments
other flexible conductive elements can be used.
[0072] FIG. 3 shows schematically and exemplarily a further
embodiment of a sleep element. The sleep element 201 is an
electrical blanket, in particular, an electrical underblanket. The
sleep element 201 is located on a mattress of a bed 13. A person
217 is lying on the electrical blanket 201. The head of the person
217 is located on a pillow 214 and the person 217 is covered by a
covering blanket 216. The sleep element 201, i.e. in this
embodiment the underblanket 201, comprises a property determination
unit 202 being a skin temperature sensor. The skin temperature
sensor 202 is embedded in the underblanket 201. The underblanket
201 comprises a thermal energy unit 203 being a thermo-electrical
element. The thermo-electrical element is, in this embodiment, a
heating wire for heating the underblanket 201 by resistive heating.
The sleep element 201 further comprises a thermal energy control
unit 204 for controlling the thermal energy unit 203 depending on
the determined property of the person, i.e. in this embodiment
depending on the measured skin temperature.
[0073] The sleep element 201 further comprises a property recording
unit 207 for recording properties of the person 217, which have
been determined during sleeping. In this embodiment, the property
recording unit 217 is adapted to store the measured temperatures in
a memory, while the person is sleeping. The recorded properties of
the person 217 form a recorded property pattern. In this
embodiment, the skin temperature of the person 217 is measured by
the skin temperature sensor 202 and the skin temperature measured
over time is stored in the property recording unit 207 as a
recorded property pattern.
[0074] The sleep element 201 further comprises a user interface 208
for allowing a person to start the recording of the properties and
to stop the recording of the properties. Preferentially, when a
person wants to sleep, the person starts the recording of the
properties, and if the person has woken up after having slept, the
person 217 can stop the recording of the properties by using the
interface 208.
[0075] The user interface 208 is further adapted for allowing the
person 217 to select between good sleep quality, mid-level sleep
quality and bad sleep quality. The user interface 208 comprises
three buttons, a red one, a yellow one and a green one. If the
sleep was good, the person can press the green button, if it was a
mid-level sleep quality, the person can press the yellow button,
and if the sleep was bad, the person can press the red button.
These buttons are indicated in FIG. 3 by reference signs 209, 210,
211.
[0076] The sleep element 201 further comprises an assignment
generation unit 212 for generating assignments between the recorded
property pattern and the selected sleep quality and for determining
a reference property pattern depending on the generated
assignments. The thermal control unit 204 is adapted to control the
thermal energy unit 203 such that a deviation of actually
determined properties of the person 217 forming an actual property
pattern and the reference property pattern is reduced. Thus, in
this embodiment, the skin temperature is recorded while the person
is sleeping. The skin temperature measured over time forms a
recorded property pattern. After the person has rated the sleep via
the user interface 208, the selected sleep quality is assigned to
the recorded property pattern. The assignment generation unit 212
is preferentially adapted to combine several recorded property
patterns which have been assigned to a sleep quality. This
combining of several recorded property patterns is, for example, a
weighted averaging, wherein a recorded property pattern assigned to
good sleep quality receives a larger weight than a recorded
property pattern assigned to mid-level sleep quality and wherein a
recorded property pattern assigned to mid-level sleep quality
receives a larger weight than a recorded property pattern assigned
to bad sleep quality. The resulting combined recorded property
pattern is the reference property pattern. The thermal control unit
204 controls the thermal energy unit 203 preferentially such that
the reference property pattern, which is, in this embodiment, a
measured skin temperature over time, is met by an actually measured
property pattern, i.e. an actually measured skin temperature over
time, as good as possible.
[0077] Thus, in this embodiment the weighting of the sleep quality
is used to weight the stored skin temperature data, wherein, after
the learning period is finished, the most optimal trend is selected
to ensure the settings for best sleep quality. The weighted
combination of temperature curves can be used as the reference
personalized skin temperature curve for intelligent skin
temperature regulation. In an embodiment, the weights are
normalized, i.e. the sum of the weights is one. In another
embodiment high rated recordings can have a high weighting factor,
for example, up to three, while low weighted recordings would have
a smaller weight, for example, down to zero. Next time of sleep,
the sleep element may try helping to reproduce the weighted
recording of skin temperature, and the reported sleep quality will
weigh the attempt again. When repeated over and over again, this
procedure leads towards the best settings for highest subjective
sleep quality.
[0078] The property recording unit can also be adapted to record a
maximal and/or minimal determined property value, in particular,
the maximal and/or minimal skin temperature, as the property
pattern. The assignment generation unit can be adapted to determine
a maximal and/or minimal determined property value, which have
preferentially been assigned to good sleep quality, as a reference
property pattern. The thermal control unit 204 is then
preferentially adapted such that the actual skin temperature
measured while the person is sleeping is above the minimal skin
temperature and/or below the maximal skin temperature, wherein
these minimal and maximal values have been weighted by the person
as providing a good sleep quality. The sleep element 201 allows a
user to adapt the temperature control to his personal preferences.
The temperature control can therefore be adapted to the respective
person.
[0079] Although in the above described embodiment the property
recording unit is adapted to record a skin temperature of the
person, in another embodiment the sleep element can be adapted to
determine other properties of the person like a movement of the
person and the property recording unit can be adapted to record the
other properties, for example, a movement of the person by
recording a corresponding movement signal. The thermal energy
control unit can then be adapted to regulate the temperature of the
person, for example, such that an actually measured property
pattern defined by actually determined movements of the person meet
a reference property pattern, which has been determined by
combining several recorded property patterns to which a sleep
quality has been assigned, as good as possible.
[0080] The sleep element 201 can be adapted to adjust its set point
and fluctuation over time in accordance with physiological
parameters of a particular person, i.e. in accordance with the
recorded properties of the person. Preferentially, the sleep
element 201 is adapted to adjust its set point and fluctuation over
time in accordance with skin temperature fluctuations of a
particular person. The sleep element 201 provides a learning
algorithm which can be used to quickly personalize the sleep
element to a particular person. In an embodiment, the learning
period for recording property patterns which are preferentially
combined for determining a reference property pattern is about one
to two weeks. The sleep element 201 can be adapted to adjust its
set point and fluctuation over time in accordance with
physiological parameters of a particular person to achieve higher
sleep quality.
[0081] FIG. 4 shows schematically and exemplary a further
embodiment of a sleep element. The sleep element 301 being an
electrical blanket is located on a mattress of a bed 313. A person
317 is lying on the electrical blanket 301. The head of the person
317 is located on a pillow 314 and the person 317 is covered by a
covering blanket 316. The sleep element 301, i.e. in this
embodiment, the underblanket 301, comprises a property
determination unit 302 being, for example, a skin temperature
sensor or an accelerometer.
[0082] The property determination unit 302 is embedded in the
underblanket 301. The underblanket 301 comprises pockets 318 in
which thermo-electric elements are inserted which form a thermal
energy unit 303. In other embodiments, other elements can be used
for attaching, in particular, inserting the thermo-electrical
elements into the sleep element. The sleep element 301 further
comprises a thermal energy control unit 304 for controlling the
thermal energy unit 303 depending on the determined property of the
person, i.e. e.g. depending on the measured skin temperature or a
measured acceleration. The thermo-electric elements are adapted for
electrically transferring thermal energy to and away from the
person 317 by heating and cooling the person 317, wherein for
switching from heating to cooling or vice versa the direction of
the current flowing through the thermo-electric elements is
modified by the thermal energy control unit 304 being
preferentially a power supply like a voltage source. Switching of
the electrical current to one direction provides a cooling of the
person and switching of the current to another direction provides
heating of the person.
[0083] Although in the above described embodiments, the sleep
element is preferentially an underblanket, in other embodiments the
sleep element can also be another element for being used within a
bed like a covering blanket, a mattress, a pillow et cetera.
[0084] Also the other described embodiments of the sleep element
can comprise pockets for holding the thermo-electric elements.
[0085] In the following an embodiment of a sleep method for
improving the sleep of a person is exemplarily described with
reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 5.
[0086] In step 301, a sleep element is provided for being used
within a bed. Preferentially, the sleep element is a blanket, in
particular, an underblanket, which is placed on a mattress of the
bed.
[0087] In step 302, a property of a person who is lying in the bed
is determined by a property determination unit, for example, a
moving signal is generated by using a moving sensor like an
accelerometer or by using electrically conductive wires of a
thermal energy unit within the sleep element, wherein an electrical
property of these wires is measured as a movement signal, and by
determining a comfort level depending on the generated movement
signal. The determined property can also directly be the movement
signal or another property like the skin temperature of the person
or the heart beat of the person.
[0088] In step 303, thermal energy is transferred to or away from
the person by a thermal energy unit of the sleep element, wherein
the transferring of the thermal energy to or away from the person
is controlled depending on the determined property of the person by
a thermal energy control unit of the sleep element.
[0089] In the following a further embodiment of a sleep method for
improving the sleep of a person is exemplarily described with
reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 6.
[0090] In step 401 a sleep element is provided for being used
within a bed. In this embodiment, the sleep element 201 shown in
FIG. 3 is provided in step 401. In step 402 a property of a person,
in this embodiment, the skin temperature of the person, is
determined by a property determination unit being, in this
embodiment, a skin temperature sensor. The determined property of
the person measured over time while the person is sleeping is
recorded in a property recording unit.
[0091] In step 403, after the person has woken up, the person rates
the sleep quality by using a user interface. In particular, the
user selects between good sleep quality, mid-level sleep quality
and bad sleep quality. In step 404, assignments between the
recorded property pattern defined by the determined property over
time and the selected sleep quality are generated. Steps 402 to 404
can be repeated several times, i.e. for several sleeps of the
person.
[0092] In step 405 recorded property patterns which have been
assigned to good sleep quality are combined to a reference property
pattern. In another embodiment, also other recorded property
patterns, which have not been assigned to good sleep quality can be
used for generating a combined recorded property pattern being the
reference property pattern. In this case, the recorded property
patterns being assigned to good sleep quality receive a larger
weight than recorded property patterns which have been assigned to
mid-level or bad sleep quality. Moreover, preferentially, a
recorded property pattern assigned to mid-level sleep quality
receive a larger weight than a recorded property pattern assigned
to bad sleep quality. Steps 402 to 405 can be regarded as a
training method for training the sleep element such that it is
adapted to a particular person.
[0093] If the person is sleeping again, in step 406 the thermal
energy unit is controlled such that a deviation between actual
determined properties of the person forming an actual property
pattern and the reference property pattern is reduced.
[0094] Although in the above described embodiments the determined
property of the person is preferentially the skin temperature or a
comfort level of the person determined based on a movement of the
person, in other embodiments other properties of the person can be
determined like heart rate, skin conductance,
electroencephalography signals, electrocardiogram signals, et
cetera. Moreover, the generated movement signal can directly be
regarded as the determined property of the person without
determining a comfort level.
[0095] The above described sleep elements are preferentially used
to improve the sleep quality of consumers, wherein unobtrusive and
robust technical elements are used.
[0096] The above described sleep elements which allow to generate a
movement signal can be used to utilize the activity level of a
sleeping person in bed to control the heating level of the
respective sleep element, in particular, of an electrical blanket.
An increased activity level of the sleeping person can be
interpreted as an indicator of thermal discomfort, which can be
reduced by adjusting the heating of the sleep element.
[0097] Along with the increase of the life tempo, people do
recognize more and more the importance of good sleep for their
life. This is indicated by the growing number of the patients
asking for medical help to treat insomnia, restless leg syndromes,
apnea, snoring, and many other sleep disorders that were not
recognized as the illness in earlier times of humankind Even normal
healthy people (sometimes just being not diagnosed patients) feel
the need to improve their sleep after having stressful dynamical
life, travelling across the time zones, or lacking the normal
daylight due to their lifestyle, or having small babies, or getting
older, or having menopauses, or many other reasons. Many of these
reasons do, indeed, prevent the good sleep quality.
[0098] There are many aspects of the sleep that play a role. The
sleep element in accordance with the invention refers to the
thermoregulation aspect of the sleep. Two main temperatures are
playing role in day-night rhythms of the humans: skin and core body
temperatures. Both of them have the cyclic nature and are
controlled by human physiology and consciously, when awake. In
sleep, the things are more complicated. The typical heat production
of the human body varies cyclically through the night from
.about.100 W in the evening to <50 W in the midnight and to
.about.100 W again in the morning. Paradoxically, at the lowest
heat production moment there should be the highest skin temperature
for optimal sleep. So, historically, people cover themselves with
blankets to compensate smaller heat production. Another solution
that people use for ages is the heated objects put in bed: water
bags, bottles, et cetera. The sleep element in accordance with the
invention can be used for regulate the temperature of the sleeping
person such that the sleep is effectively improved.
[0099] Although the above described embodiments comprise partly
different elements, the elements of the different embodiments can
be combined to a further embodiment of the invention. For example,
several sensors for measuring a property of a person can be used in
a single sleep element, in particular, in a single blanket.
Moreover, not only the embodiment described above with reference to
FIG. 1, but also further embodiments of the invention can comprise
a temperature sensor being used for preventing overheating of the
respective sleep element.
[0100] Although in the above described embodiments a heating wire
is mainly used as a thermal energy unit, in other embodiments other
thermal energy units can be used. For example, a thermo-electric
element can be used which allows cooling and heating the person,
wherein for switching between cooling and heating the direction of
the current flowing through the thermo-electric element is
modified.
[0101] The sleep element can be used for heating or cooling of a
person for thermo regulation and better sleep quality. Another
possible application area is to provide comfortable cooling in a
hot environment and to provide heating in a cold environment.
Another possible application area is the clinical assessment of
patients with hypothermia or hyperthermia symptoms or the clinical
assessment of patients with other symptoms.
[0102] Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be
understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing
the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the
disclosure, and the appended claims.
[0103] In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other
elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not
exclude a plurality.
[0104] A single unit or device may fulfill the functions of several
items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures
are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not
indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to
advantage.
[0105] Determinations like the determination of a property of the
person, in particular, of a comfort level of a person, performed by
one or several units or devices can be performed by any other
number of units or devices. The determinations and/or the control
of a sleep element in accordance with a sleep method can be
implemented as program code means of a computer program and/or as
dedicated hardware.
[0106] A computer program may be stored/distributed on a suitable
medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium,
supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also
be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other
wired or wireless telecommunication systems.
[0107] Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as
limiting the scope.
[0108] The invention relates to a sleep element like a heating
blanket for improving the sleep of a person. The sleep element
comprises a property determination unit for determining a property
of a person, a thermal energy unit for transferring thermal energy
to or away from the person, and a thermal energy control unit for
controlling the thermal energy unit depending on the determined
property of the person. Since the sleep element comprises the
property determination unit, the thermal energy unit, and the
thermal energy control unit, the temperature of the person can be
controlled depending on a determined property of the person, while
the person is sleeping, such that the sleep of the person is
improved. Moreover, the temperature control can simply be used
within a bed by placing the sleep element in the bed. The handling
of the temperature control is therefore very simple.
* * * * *